BILLINGS, Mont. – Yellowjacket cross country is in action for the final time this fall on Saturday, November 9 at 10 a.m. at the 2019 NCAA Division II West Region Championships, hosted by Western Oregon University. The women's 6-kilometer race is set for 10 a.m., followed by a men's 10-kilometer race at 11:15 a.m. Both races will be run at Ash Creek Preserve on the campus of Western Oregon and live results will be available online here.
 
The Yellowjacket women finished 10^th in their last outing, at the 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on October 26 in Billings. In all, the team has run four races this fall, with one event (the GNAC Preview) cancelled due to poor weather.
 
"We are tapering this week in training so we can be well rested and ready for Saturday," said MSUB head coach Jon Woehl. "Our times are pretty close to this time last year, maybe even a little bit better. We missed out on one race this fall because of bad weather, but we've tried to make up for it through some harder workouts in practice, so I'm hoping it doesn't end up effecting us too much."
 
Senior Nikki Aiken began the season with her first career race win in a 5K at Robbinsdale Park. Aiken ran the Hardrocker Classic in 21:25.40. She continued with positive results in the Rocky Mountain College Invite, Roy Griak Invitational, and GNAC Championships, where she took 33^rd position.
 
 "It will be bittersweet for Nikki in her last cross country race as a Yellowjacket," Woehl said. "She's been a staple in this program over the last four years and we wouldn't be where we are at without her. It will be fun to see her compete but sad at the same time."
 
Junior Miranda Livingston as well as sophomores Rachel Hiner, Sierra Durbin, and Kailee Stoppel are expected to round out the starting lineup for the Yellowjacket women's team. Last season, MSUB placed 23^rd of 26 teams in the NCAA West Region Championships in a 6-kilometer distance at Amend Park in Billings.
 
Men's cross country features Pinesdale, Montana native Ronald Venema as the only senior with three years of varsity experience. Venema placed 56^th in the GNAC Championships in October and took 18^th in the Hardrocker Cross Country Classic in September. The Yellowjackets will have to adjust their distance strategy in Monmouth as they ramp up from 8-kilometers to 10-kilometers for the first time this season.
 
Venema is joined on the lineup card by junior Carson Jessop, sophomores Logan Straus and Ase Ackerman, as well as freshmen Nick Redgrave, Bryant Edgerton, and Will Steinfeldt. Ackerman has enjoyed a good second season with a 13^th place finish at Robbinsdale Park and 64^th positioning at the GNAC Championships. Bryant Edgerton made the biggest impact among newcomers at Amend Park when he took 56^th place at the GNAC Championships.
 
"It will be an adjustment running a 10K in a race for the first time this fall," Woehl said. "I think our returners will do well because they have been there before. For the newcomers, it's a slightly bigger challenge, but I would expect them to still post season bests through the first 8K and then just keep going. I'm really excited to see how they do."
 
­­The Yellowjacket men took 10^th place out of 11 teams at the GNAC Championships. Last season, the team had an encouraging performance at the NCAA West Region Championships, when they finished 16^th out of 24.